KATV Steve Sullivan Some
knew him as a former Arkadelphia football player, the son of a pastor.
Others knew Matt Turner as a highly, successful news anchor at KNWA in
Northwest Arkansas. Here in Central Arkansas, people where just getting
to know Matt as a news anchor at KTHV. I was just getting used to Matt
Turner, the news anchorman.
Matt's passion was sports. I don't remember
the year, but I do remember that Paul Goza was the quarterback for
Arkadelphia, when Matt spent a summer and fall as my sports intern. We
shared a passion for high school sports , and Matt came up with an idea
for a sports documentary. He decided to follow the Arkadelphia football
team from pre-season drills to their post-season football banquet.
He did all the work and I did the voiceover.
He thought having my voice on the tape would help sell more tapes. I
wish he was right. The final product wasn't exactly an ESPN 30 for 30
production , but it was exceptional work for a sports intern. It's been
several years, but you can still find that beta tape above my desk.
That project is a Matt Turner memory that will last a lifetime.
Shortly after leaving Channel 7 , Matt landed
a job with Mike Nail in the KNWA sports office. It was around that
time that Matt started dealing with a " mystery " illness. He woke up
one day and couldn't move. Matt attacked his illness like the
Arkadelphia documentary. He was relentless. He traveled all over the
country seeing the best doctors looking for answers. He was a young man
dealing with a serious health problem. A son who watched his Dad die
of Leukemia.
Just about every twitter message I sent to
Matt started with a question, "How are you feeling?". My hope was that
someday I would click on a message from Matt, and he would say he was
feeling great. I never got that message. Matt had his good days and bad
days, but he never let his health interfere with his drive to succeed
on and off the air.
Julee, Preslee and Romeo. Julee was Matt's
loving, blogging wife ( Her blog is a must read). She was Matt's partner
in the mission to solve his medical mystery. Preslee is their miracle
child. The most photographed , 10 month old girl in the United States.
Then there's Romeo, Matt and Julee's ping pong playing dog, who actually
made an appearance on one of my sportscasts.
Today, it's hard to not think about Julee,
Preslee and Romeo . Last night, Matt died in a one car accident on his
way to Arkadelphia. I'll miss Matt.
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